Thursday, November 16, 2006

Running a Marathon

When I went to Catholic grade school, our big fundraiser was the marathon for non-public schools, where you had to get pledges and walk or run a certain course every year. In the late 1970s-early 1980s, the prize for reaching certain levels of pledges (which I never did, because even as a kid I hated asking people for money) was Marathon candy bars.

Man, we loved those things. They were long, and stretchy, and caramely, and the braid and the extra length was cool. This page remembers one of their commercials, featuring Patrick Wayne as Marathon John.

Am I the only one who thinks that if M&M Mars brought this back, just even for a limited time, with a retro ad campaign and everything, it would do great guns with all us nostalgic types? Everyone says the Cadbury Curly Wurly is the same, but in looks only, not in taste.

Those were so great because they seemed so much bigger than regular candy bars. When I was a kid and my mom would let me pick out a candy bar at the store, I'd often pick a Marathon bar; not because I even really liked them, but because it seemed like I was getting away with something taking home a candy bar that big!

Seriously, if they brought this and Tangy Taffy back, I would empty my savings account to stock up on both. Oh my God, a Marathon bar out of the fridge on a summer day, so brittle and then chewy and then gooey as it warmed up. Unbelievable.

Marathon bars were definitly the candy of our childhood. But wasnt the candy bar longer than 8 inches when it first cam out? I thought I remember being disappointed when they reduced the size. And does anyone remeber the cereal FREAKIES that gave you free refrigerator magnets as the prize?

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I'm an entertainment editor at MSNBC.com, and have maintained Pop Culture Junk Mail since August, 1999. The New York Times called the site "one of the best places to explore pop culture online," and Entertainment Weekly included it on their Top 100 Web Sites list. If you like weird food, strange products, and 1970s and 1980s nostalgia, PCJM is your home away from home.